La Grita
by complete-randomalities
Summary: Luciana has been different for as long as she can remember. She didn't meet the typical 'mutant gene kicking in at puberty' thing. No, Luciana has been a 'obvious' mutant since infancy. She has no idea where she comes from and what's in store, but with her best friend Rogue at her side, she's going to stand tall and take what comes -All the while throwing back as good as she gets.
1. You won't hurt me

Luciana sat at the kitchen table in her foster home in her Mississippi hometown of Meridian. Her birth parents left her at the firehouse when she was a baby and the Lopez-Fitzgerald family took her in. Luciana may have their name but she was never adopted by them. There was always something…off about Luciana. It wasn't just the fact that she was a mute – they could get past that. It was just… _something_. They truly cared about Luciana and took care of her as if she was their own, but they never made it official. With no logical explanation, they always held it back.

Now while her foster parents didn't know what was different about her, Luciana did. Of course, she didn't know _everything_ but she was a mute for good reason. Her reason being why she never let anyone get too close to her – all but Marie D'Ancanto, of course. Even when they were kids Luciana would try and keep pushing Marie out of her life but Marie kept pushing back and thus, became best friend. Marie even learned sign language so he could communicate with Luciana. Granted that wasn't necessary, but Luciana wasn't about to tell anyone about that – she couldn't.

Luciana tapped on the table, looking up at the clock. Marie and her boyfriend were supposed to be picking her up soon to head back to Marie's place and watch a movie or something. _'Did Marie call to say she'd be late?'_ Luciana signed to her foster parents in case a call was missed.

To try and encourage Luciana to speak, Clara – Luciana's foster mother – answered verbally as opposed to signing. "No, she didn't. Why? Is everything alright?"

' _If I knew something was wrong I wouldn't be asking why she's late',_ Luciana signed back with a bit of force, accompanied by a scoff.

"Don't use that tone with us," Robert – Luciana's foster father – scolded. He knew by now when Luciana's was being sassy with her signing.

At that moment the doorbell rang and Luciana bolted up to get it. She didn't say a word to her friend but her face made it clear she was accusing her of being late.

Marie could read Luciana's facial expressions very well after all their years being friends and this time was no different. "Oh, don't give me that look, I know."

Luciana put her fingers in her mouth to get her foster parents' attention before letting them know she was going out.

"Don't stay out too late," Robert called back and sighed when she waved dismissively back in reply. Once the door closed, he turned attention to his wife. "I don't know what to do about that girl any longer."

"We can't put her back into the system," Clara replied, worried that was what he was thinking. "No one will take care of her the way we do."

"I know," he sighed, "but I'm very close to giving up on her."

Clara poked at her food and looked away, feeling ashamed because she felt the same way.

* * *

Luciana sat back in the beanbag chair against the corner wall in Marie's bedroom as she talked about going into Canada, through the Rockies, and into Anchorage. "It's going to be an adventure," she said to her boyfriend, David, with a smile.

"Oh, really?" he chuckled, moving to his side on the bed. "And when do you plan on taking this adventure?"

"I don't know," Marie admitted and turned to Luciana. "What do you think, Luci?" she asked and signed together.

' _After High School, before college?'_ Luciana replied then shrugged, returning back to her package of Red Vines.

"You two are going on this together?" David looked between them. "That's kinda hot."

Luciana rolled her eyes and threw a Red Vine at him.

Marie shook her head with a smile. "You're horrible."

"You know I only have eyes for you." David smiled at Marie and leaned in for a kiss.

Luciana rolled her eyes again and moved her Red Vines package over her eyes to block the view of their makeout session. She soon dropped them and jumped about fifty feet when Marie started screaming. She bound to her feet and saw David lying back, seizing or something. Luciana rushed over to check him out and when Marie's parents came in, she went over to Marie who was crying in the corner.

"I don't know what happened!" Marie cried. "I just touched him!"

Luciana reached out to hold her friend but Marie screamed out, "Don't touch me!", so she held her hands up to show she wouldn't, and stepped back. When Marie's mother rushed out of the room to call an ambulance, Luciana spotted a pair of costume gloves sticking out of a drawer so she snatched them and pulled them on.

Marie shook her head, crying out, "Don't touch me!" when Luciana came back over to her even with the gloves on.

' _You won't hurt me,'_ Luciana assured her. _'I promise'_. Of course this was just an experiment but Luciana was willing to do anything to try and comfort her friend. She reached out and took Marie's hands in hers with no side effect of what happened. Maybe she and Marie were always meant to be best friends because Marie, it seemed, was different…just like her.

' _No matter what happens, you got me,'_ Luciana signed, swearing her vow. _'You've got me'._

Luciana was good on her word. Marie wanted to run away and Luciana told her she'd go with her wherever she wanted to go.

* * *

Luciana started throwing things into a bag to get ready for her trek into the unknown with Marie. She was just about ready to leave when Robert came into her room without knocking.

"I had a feeling this was coming," Robert sighed, seeing how she had packed up a lot of her things. "Is there any way I can talk you out of it?"

Luciana shook her head, knowing there was no need to go into details with him. Whether or not Robert realized it, he knew her better than most.

Robert nodded in understanding and pulled out his wallet. He handed over all the cash he had there and said, "Be careful, Luciana."

Luciana signed, _'Thank you,_ ' then asked, ' _What are you going to tell Clara?'_

"The truth," Robert replied, hugging her. "That I let you go. If you need anything, you call. We won't interfere. You have my word."

Luciana hugged him back and grabbed a couple more things before slinging the duffel over her shoulder and darting out of the room and downstairs.

Robert went to the window that looked out onto the street and saw Luciana meet up with her friend Marie. He felt better about letting her go now. Was it irresponsible to not tell Marie's parents? – Yes, he knew this, but at least now…now Luciana wasn't going to be alone.

* * *

Luciana and Marie made it into Canada without too much trouble, but much lowered funds. It was because of this that once they crossed the border they hitched a ride with a truck driver. He took them all the way to Laughlin City but it wasn't quite what either of them expected. The so-called city was a collection of wooden buildings, one of them clearly with the appearance of being a biker bar or something along those lines.

' _Let's try and get something to eat._ ' Luciana tugged onto Marie's coat then pulled down her knit cap before crossing the snow covered street to get to the bar. A time or two a couple of cars blared their horns at them. Luciana wanted to scream back at them, but she kept her mouth shut. Last thing they needed was that kind of attention.

' _This looks like that Fight Club movie,_ ' Marie signed to Luciana as they walked into the bar. There was even a metal gate cage in the middle of the place with two people fighting inside as people sat and stood around, cheering or booing depending on who they bet on.

' _I want to see'_ , Luciana signed back and took Marie's gloved hand with her own before pulling her over to the ring.

The male announcer spoke into the microphone, "Gentlemen, in all my years, I've never seen anything like it. Are you gonna let _this man_ walk away with your money?"

"I'll fight him!" a tall, tattooed, bald man called out before he took off his coat and went into the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our savior!" the announcer called out.

Luciana moved as close to the cage as she could get and watched the fight. The undefeated man had the air of an animal and fought like it was for his survival, but there was more than that. He didn't fight like a normal man – wait, that wasn't true. He did fight as a normal man would but it was almost as if he felt no pain and the punches he threw back hit harder than anything Luciana had ever seen before. Suffice to say, the challenger was knocked out in a few hits. 'He's different, too…?' Luciana thought to herself and pulled her thoughts back when the announcer spoke again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the king of the cage…the Wolverine!"

"Come on," Marie said to Luciana, "let's get something to drink."

' _I want to watch,_ ' Luciana passively signed back, not taking her eyes off the cage. She'd never seen anything like this before and it was cool as hell to her.

Marie didn't think this was a good idea so she grabbed Luciana's hand and pulled her away to the bar and ordered two waters.

Luciana sipped at the water and kept looking back at the cage. _'If I had more than a dollar on me I'd make a bet._ '

Marie locked her eyes on the tip jar sitting on the counter and was thinking the same thing. Well, not the same thing exactly. She wasn't planning on making a bet but it would be nice to have some more money.

Luciana and Marie sat together at the bar until pretty much everyone left the bar. The Bartender finally spotted Marie eye-balling the tip jar so he moved it from their reach as he asked, "Can I get you anything else or are you sticking with water?"

' _Water_ ,' Luciana signed back and smirked at the odd expression on the Bartender's face because he had no clue what she just said. While drinking her water, the Wolverine guy came to sit at the bar not too far from them. Luciana tapped on Marie's arm to let her know, despite the fact that this Wolverine guy was not someone who could easily be missed.

Luciana was about to tell Marie something but stopped when the tattooed guy that was beat in the cage earlier went up to the Wolverine guy demanding money. "I know what you are," the guy said to him.

Luciana didn't hear what the Wolverine guy said because the tattooed guy pulled out a knife. She almost opened her mouth in warning but quickly turned Marie's head to see instead.

Marie saw the knife and screamed, "Look out!"

Luciana's eyes widened when the Wolverine guy shot up out of his seat and put his fist in front of the tattooed guys throat, only…there was more to his fist. Three long blades shot out of his skin and when the Bartender ordered the Wolverine guy to get out of his bar with a gun aimed at his head, the Wolverine guy sliced right through it with the blades which came out of his other hand.

Luciana turned around when she heard a male's voice call out, "Wolverine!" There stood a younger man with dark hair and large black gloves over his hand. "It's not worth it."

Wolverine looked back to him and with a huffed grunt he pulled the blades back into his hand and walked out of the bar with him.

Luciana and Marie looked at each other and didn't need words. Somehow they came to the same conclusion – they were going to follow him. So they both picked up their duffel bags and went outside.

It didn't take them long to spot the vehicle the Wolverine guy and younger man were headed to. It was a truck with a camper on the back with a trailer attached. As soon as the coast was clear, both Luciana and Marie climbed into the trailer under the tarps there and held onto each others' hands when the vehicle started up and drove away.

* * *

Wolverine looked to the young man sitting next to him and could tell there was something on his mind. When Wolverine first found him he was like a stray rabid dog, so he decided to help him out and has been stuck with him ever since. Wolverine's grip tightened on the wheel as he sighed, "Spit it out, Lyall."

Lyall turned to look at him, clearly annoyed. Then again, most teenagers could get annoyed easily but Lyall had a reason. "We had a good thing there, Logan," he shot back. "You got too cocky." He scoffed and looked back out the window at the snowy wilderness around them. There was nothing but trees for miles and as far as he could see, they were the only vehicle on this stretch of highway.

"What was I supposed to do?" Logan chuckled incredulously, "Let him stab me?"

"It's not like it'd have killed ya," Lyall muttered under his breath.

Logan scoffed a chuckle and rolled down the window to get rid of his cigar's ashes.

Lyall caught something when Logan did that. He sniffed the air and leaned closer to Logan to see if it was his cigar, but it wasn't. Lyall rolled down the window and stuck his head out a little before pulling it back in. "You smell that?"

Logan pulled the cigar out of his mouth and took a deep inhale, taking in the scent Lyall seemed to catch and found he smelled something as well. His brow deeply furrowed as he pulled the truck over and stopped to get out.

Lyall got out and went around to the trailer where Logan and Lyall kept their motorcycles to see what was back there. There was definitely something piled up between the bikes there. He leaned over and poked the bulge to find it stirring.

Logan scoffed and tore the tarp back to find two girls laying there – the girls he recognized from the bar. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?"

"Sorry," Marie replied, "we needed a ride. We thought you might help us."

Logan waved his hand for them to get a move on. "Get out."

Marie and Luciana sat up but Marie kept on talking. "What?"

"Get out," Logan repeated. "I already gone one stray. I don't need two others."

"Hey," Lyall shot back, feeling offended. "I figured by now I'd at least be elevated to house pet status."

Logan shot him a 'shut up' glare before pulling out the two duffels bags and throwing them onto the ground.

' _Where are we supposed to go now?'_ Luciana signed and Marie interpreted, "Where are we supposed to go?"

"I don't know," Logan answered, just wanting to be done with them.

' _Don't know or don't care?'_ Luciana signed back with sass and to her surprise, the Wolverine guy understood and answered verbally, "Pick one."

Logan pointed to Lyall, saying firmly, "Get in the truck."

Lyall wasn't going to go against Logan's wishes so he bowed elaborately to the girls, saying, "Ladies," then got into the truck per instruction.

"We saved your life!" Marie called out to the Wolverine guy only to have him retort with, "No, you didn't."

Once Logan was in the truck, Lyall said to him, "They kinda did."

"Shut up, Lycan," Logan shot back and started up the truck to drive off.

"Whatever you say, Wolverine." Lyall acted like it was no big deal but looked at Logan out of the corner of his eye once the truck started driving off.

Logan gripped the steering wheel and caught the sideways look Lyall was giving him. Finally he stopped the vehicle and muttered with a grunt, "Me and my damn strays."

Luciana and Marie were just about to start walking when they saw the truck pull to a stop before going round the bend. Suffice to say they ran like hell to get in before he changed his mind.

After throwing their bags into the trailer, they crammed into the front seat with the two fellas. It was a tight squeeze up there, but they made it work. Marie was closest to the door and made sure not to touch anyone. That wasn't hard to manage since everyone was pretty well bundled against the cold. Layers were definitely Marie's friend.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?" Marie asked, not able to remember the last time she or Luciana had anything to eat.

"Excuuuse me," Lyall said in a drawn out way as he leaned across them to get to the glove compartment. He pulled out a couple packages of jerky and tossed them to the girls.

Marie and Luciana were both grateful and started eating right off. "I'm Rogue," Marie introduced herself as, "and this is Grita." Those were the names she and Luciana agreed upon if anyone ever asked what their names were.

"I'm Lycan," Lyall grinned. "And this is Wolverine. Pleasure to meet you, ladies."

Logan noticed Rogue rubbing her hands so he turned on the heater and gestured over saying, "Put your hands on the heater."

Luciana was afraid that they were gonna touch so she hit his hand away.

"I'm going to hurt you, kids," Logan scoffed, returning his hand to the wheel.

"It's nothing personal," Marie told them. "It's just…when people touch my skin, something happens."

"What?" Lyall asked, intrigued.

"I don't know," Marie admitted. "They just get hurt."

Lyall shrugged and Logan accepted the answer. "Fair enough."

Luciana reached over Lyall and tapped on Logan's knuckles. _'Does it hurt when they come out?'_

Logan caught what she signed and admitted, "Every time." Things were quiet for a moment before he asked them, "So what kind of names are Rogue and Grita?"

"What kind of names are Lycan and Wolverine?" Marie asked in return.

"My name's Logan," he informed them. "And the house pet here is Lyall."

"I'm Marie," she replied. "And this is my friend Luciana." He picked up speed a little bit, so Marie said, "You know, you should wear your seatbelt."

"I don't need auto safety advice from you," Logan shot back.

"Besides, he'd have to touch my ass in order to click it," Lyall added in. "And I don't think either of us want that."

Lyall started to laugh but it was cut off when a tree fell into the road right in front of them, causing Logan to crash into it. Both Lyall and Logan were thrown out of the window, but since Marie and Luciana were buckled in, they got strongly jolted instead.

Marie looked out in the distance and saw Logan and Lyall both lying lifeless in the snow. "Are they dead? Oh my god, Grita, are they dead?!" She got her answer when both Lyall and Logan stood up, stretched a bit, and walked back to the truck. Once they were close enough, Marie and Luciana could both see how their wounds healed before their eyes.

"Are you alright?" Logan called out. "Kids, are you alright?!"

"I'm stuck!" Marie shouted back and that quickly got Luciana trying to free Marie from her buckle. Luciana was already out of hers so there was no issue there.

Lyall was about to go help Marie with the problem when Logan shot out his hand to stop him. He looked at Logan in question then looked where Logan gestured – at the tree. It didn't fall on its own, it was broken.

"Slow," Logan told Lyall quietly, and Lyall nodded before slowly making his way to the truck and try to get Marie free.

Lyall didn't get very far before something lunged at him from behind with a growl. He whipped around with his hands as claws and teeth to fangs to defend himself, but he was grabbed and thrown right into a tree before he had a chance to do a thing. Lyall cried out in pain when he felt his back snap – that was going to take a bit longer to heal up.

Luciana gasped at everything that was going on – Lyall wasn't moving, some Big Foot-esque guy was kicking Logan's ass, Marie was still stuck, and the trailer was catching on fire. Luciana wasn't having any luck with freeing Marie from belt. The fire was growing in the back but Luciana, at least for the moment, thought it was the least of their worries with Big Foot attacking people out there. She quickly signed to Marie, _'I'll be right back,'_ and got out the other side of the car.

She ran around to the front of the truck and stood in front of it and Logan's unconscious body on the hood. The Big Foot guy snarled at her and Luciana just smirked before opening her mouth to scream. Luciana's scream was unlike any other. Its pitch was so loud that it was painful to hear but more than that, the force from the soundwaves hit the Big Foot guy with such force that he was thrown back as if he'd been hit by a truck.

Luciana figured that wouldn't keep Big Foot down for long so she ran to Marie's door and flung it open. She tried again and again to get the belt free but nothing worked. When suddenly a Geordie-esque guy and a woman with white hair appeared at her side, she almost opened her mouth to scream at them but it seemed they were prepared for that.

Geordie-esque covered her mouth before activating his visor to shoot out a red beam which freed Marie from the truck. The woman helped her out after Marie quickly afterwards.

Luciana, Marie, and Logan were all pulled to safety before the truck and trailer exploded. Luciana looked over to see if Lyall escaped the blast, which he did. As far as Luciana could see, though, he was still unconscious.

She had no clue who these people were, so she pushed the woman away from Marie and stood protectively in front of her, ready to scream again.

"We're not going to hurt you," the woman said calmly to her. "We're here to help. Can you let us do that?"

Marie placed her hand on Luciana's shoulder, "It's okay. Let them help."

Luciana's protective stance relaxed a bit. She signed to them, ' _Where are you planning on taking us?'_ which Marie verbally interpreted.

"Somewhere safe," the Geordie-esque guy replied. "To someone who can help you."

Luciana didn't like the vague answer but she and Marie did get into the trailer of some guy's truck they didn't know. This was just about as crazy, so…she agreed.

* * *

End Part 1


	2. Everything

Luciana couldn't believe where they were being taken – it was a mansion. It had to be the biggest mansion Luciana had ever seen. _'What is this place?'_ she asked Marie.

Marie took the cue and asked aloud, "Where are we?"

"A school," the woman now known as Storm, answered. "Professor Xavier will be able to help you. It's what he does here."

Once inside the mansion, Lyall and Logan were taken away and a woman with brown hair greeted them. "Hello, I am Jean Grey. Luciana, if you would come with me?"

Luciana shook her head and moved closer to Marie.

Marie stood in front of Luciana and said, "You'll be okay. If you need anything, just scream."

Luciana chuckled at that and smiled at her friend before going off with the Jean woman.

Jean Grey led Luciana down the hall before reaching a specific door, "In here, please."

Luciana walked into the office and turned around when the door was closed behind her. The office was full of bookshelves along with furniture of various sitting forms, right along with a large desk at one end of the room.

'Take a seat, Luciana,' a voice spoke in her mind.

Luciana looked around, trying to find the source of the voice but didn't find one. Not until a bald man in a wheelchair came into the room through the other door.

'Do not be afraid,' Charles Xavier continued speaking telepathically to her.

'I'm not', she replied in the exact same manner.

Charles smiled and moved closer to her. "I almost believe you. Please, Luciana, take a seat."

She sat in the chair he gestured to and asked telepathically, 'How did you know I could talk like this?'

He smiled again at her. "I know a lot of things. I know what you can do and how well you've managed to hide them."

'I've had a lot of practice'. Luciana had been with mutant abilities since she was a child, perhaps even since infancy since she was told that she never did cry but somehow whoever cared for her knew exactly what she needed and when.

"I know. Not many have had the mutant gene active as long as you have. Your skills have evolved and I would like to help you with them." He could sense how skeptical she was. "You don't trust me?"

'I don't trust many'. This was most definitely the truth.

"Now that, I do believe." Charles moved behind his desk as he spoke. "You and your friends are welcome to stay here. Rooms will be shown to you and classes arranged."

'You're talking like I've agreed to stay', Luciana shot back, not happy about it.

Charles gave her a knowing look. "You may not realize this, but yes…you have."

Luciana turned her hands to fists and gripped them so tight that her nails broke the skin of her palms.

"Pain keeps you in control, does it?" Charles inquired, despite knowing he was right. "What are you afraid of doing to me? What else can you do?"

Luciana took a deep breath and removed her nails from her skin before answering nonchalantly with, 'Everything'.

* * *

When Luciana went sent off to reunite with Rogue and Lyall, Charles spoke with Jean Grey. "Did she agree to the blood draw?" he asked of her.

"Yes," Jean replied. "You were right. She has components of at least a dozen different mutant strains. I'm still running the tests. Of course, the most dominant are telepathy and sounds waves, but if she manages to tap into the others…"

"I can sense she is aware of three of her abilities." Charles took a breath of thought. "How could she have been exposed to so many different strains?"

"I don't know," Jean admitted. "Theoretically she shouldn't even exist. Similar traits can thrive together but her traits clash and I – I can't explain it."

"She needs to learn to control all parts of her." Charles was adamant about that. "If she does not she may end up doing something she will regret."

"Is she the one Magneto wants?" Jean had been wondering about this.

Charles turned round to face her. "Yes, perhaps she is."

* * *

Luciana sat in the examination room below the school levels. It looked completely metallic and a bit disturbing. Since the cat was out of the bag that she could communicate telepathically she chose to communicate that way. 'So, let me get this straight – Lyall and Rogue can go to class while I'm stuck here getting poked and prodded? I didn't think I was going to get experimented on.'

"You're not being experimented on," Jean countered as she set a tray of vials on the table beside Luciana. "I'm simply running a few tests to see just what you're capable of."

'I can speak telepathically, scream really loud, and move things with my mind," Luciana listed off. 'There's nothing else.' When Jean didn't answer that, Luciana narrowed her eyes at her. 'There's nothing else, right?'

"That's what these tests will determine," Jean replied and held up a needle for a blood draw. "I'm afraid I need some more of your blood."

'What are you – a vampire?' Luciana held out her arm for the blood draw and asked, 'Do you know how Lyall and Rogue are doing?'

Jean took her blood as she answered. "Your friends are adapting well. It seems you haven't been doing as such in the past few days."

'I don't want to be here,' Luciana admitted.

"Where do you want to be?" Jean looked at her curiously.

Luciana thought about it for a moment but realized…she didn't have an answer.

* * *

Luciana went into the directed classroom and took the only open spot, which happened to be right next to Lyall. Marie was in the class, too, but she was sitting next to a cute boy with blondish hair. 'Miss anything?' Luciana telepathically asked Lyall, making him look at her with wide eyes.

"I _knew_ you were one of us," Lyall replied in hushed tones, pointing at her. "I could smell it on you."

'That's disturbing.' Luciana even nudged away from him a bit, just to tease. 'Anything from Logan?'

Lyall shook his head. "Last I heard he was still unconscious. He got more of an ass kicking than I did, gonna take him longer."

'You know, you can just think what you want me to hear and I can hear it, right?' Luciana smirked a bit when he realized he could do that as opposed to having a one sided conversation that would likely draw attention. After chuckling a bit, she asked, 'Are you and Logan brothers?'

'Not by blood,' Lyall answered truthfully. 'He found me when I was kid living on the streets like a feral dog. Which wasn't too far from the truth. My mutant gene lets me tap into a more animalistic side of myself.' When Luciana looked at him with a raised brow, he came right out with it. 'I'm basically a werewolf'.

Luciana thought that was pretty cool. 'Bad ass'.

Lyall smirked at that and leaned back in his chair, feeling pretty good about himself. 'Yeah, I think so, too.'

Luciana brought her hand to her mouth and moved her fingers back, causing Lyall's chair to fall beyond what he could balance so he ended up crashing on the floor.

While the other students laughed, Lyall shot up and called out, "My bad!"

The teacher narrowed their eyes at not only Lyall but Luciana as well because they weren't quite sure which was the real cause of the commotion.

Luciana, having gotten that out of her system, cleared her throat and turned her attention to whatever the teacher was talking about, but she didn't really hear anything at all. Her mind was elsewhere - nowhere - everywhere all at the same time.

* * *

That night, when Luciana slept, her dreams were filled with nightmares. She saw what must have been a concentration camp. A young boy was being pulled away by men as he screamed out, reaching for his parents – or so it seemed. The young boy ended up bending all the metal upon the gate separating them until he was rendered unconscious.

Luciana bolted upright with a heavy gasp and bolted off her now tilted bed when she realized her metal frame was as bent and contorted as the gate in her dream. She couldn't make sense of this, nor could she figure out why none of them had heard what happened. That was until she realized something else…there was an odd bubble around her and her bed. Luciana reached out and touched it. Once she did, all sound outside the bubble could be heard again.

This was getting to be a bit too much for Luciana so she snuck out of the shared bedroom and went down the hall. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She was telepathic conversation wise, mildly telekinetic, and her scream could kill if she wanted it to. That was all she had – all she was – wasn't it?

Luciana reasoned that it just had to be her telekinesis acting up a bit. Yeah, that made sense. There was no way she had whatever mutation that kid did in her dream. After all, it was just a dream…wasn't it?

Frustration was building up inside her and she just wanted to scream but couldn't without the risk of destroying everything in her path or hurting someone who may appear. This was not what she signed up for when she agreed to runaway with Marie and all she wanted to do was get the hell out of there.

When Luciana turned the corner she almost ran right into Lyall, who asked her, "Can't sleep or running away?" He was teasing her, sort of.

'If I was better prepared –running away,' she admitted with a heavy sigh as she leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. 'Something's wrong with me'.

"We're mutants," Lyall chuckled as he joined her on the floor. "I think something being wrong is a given."

'I never used to think that…until now.' Luciana always felt different, an outsider, but it wasn't until she came here that she felt like there was something _wrong_.

Lyall could tell that this was really bothering her so he changed the subject a bit and asked, "Why did Rogue say your name was Grita?"

Luciana looked at him and answered truthfully. 'It means scream'. She then turned the question on him. 'Why did you say your name was Lycan?'

"I figured that was obvious. You know, like Lycanthropy – Werewolves." Lyall even added in a little tidbit about his name. "I didn't have a name when Logan found me. He stated calling me Lyall, which means wolf. Lycan seemed like a suitable name from there."

Luciana gave him props for that. 'It's cool. I like it.' There were quiet before she came right out and asked, 'What does your mutant side look like?'

"Promise not to scream?" He meant it as a joke but her unamused face made it clear she didn't think it was very funny. "No screaming jokes, got it. But seriously though…don't scream." Lyall turned away from her before turning back to show her what he could become. His hands were now claws, excess hair seemed to pop up everywhere, his ears became pointed, and his face contorted into a wolf-like shape. And his eyes – his eyes turned blood red.

Luciana blinked a few times but she didn't scream or feel afraid. Instead, she reached out her hand and gently touched his wolf-like features before saying telepathically and signing to him, ' _It's cool. I like it'._

Lyall turned back and groaned a bit as his face, hands, teeth and such turned back to normal. "Thanks." When she smiled at him he leaned in for a kiss but got interrupted when Rogue ran right past them. "Whoa, where's the fire?"

Luciana didn't answer and got to her feet to go after Marie. She quickly caught up with her and signed, _'What happened?'_

Marie was a mess but she managed to sign back, _'I'm so stupid. I – I can't believe I just did that.'_

Luciana had no idea what had just happened and was about to ask but flashes entered her mind of Marie going to see Logan, him impaling her, and Marie using her mutant ability to gain his healing ability to heal her. It felt like it happened to her – just like with the boy in the dream and suddenly she found herself not wanting to be touched.

"Luciana? What happened?" Marie was suddenly worried for her friend.

' _Nothing_ ', she signed back. ' _I was just thinking…if you ever didn't want to stay here…I'd go with you. I'd runaway with you again in a heartbeat.'_ Luciana meant it, too.

There was something about this place that she believed was messing with her and wanted to get as far away as possible. In a way, she was right. But only because she'd never been exposed to so many mutants in all her life. And that's what will make what she said to Charles Xavier true – Sooner or later, she will be able to do _everything_. As long as it doesn't kill her first.

' _Try to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, I promise.'_ Luciana cut her comforting of her friend short because she felt something really weird happening. She darted into the nearest bathroom she could find and locked the door behind her.

Luciana whimpered in pain when she felt her bones shifting in her hands and almost screamed when three sharp bones protruded from her hands, much like Logan's three blades. When Luciana saw herself in the mirror, her eyes here blood red. 'WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!' she screamed out in her mind and moments later, the bolted door was unlocked and flung open. There stood Jean Grey behind Charles Xavier in the doorway.

"Luciana," Charles said to her calmly, "you're not in trouble, your not in danger. But please…come with us. We can help you."

Luciana whimpered again when the bones went back into her skin. As Jean took a towel off the wall and patted the blood of her hands she made sure to warn her, 'Don't touch my skin. I think – I think I'm like Marie, now'.

"I know," Jean said in a comforting manner. "Don't worry, Luciana. Like Xavier just said, we can help you."

Luciana, wanting things to get back to the way they were more than anything, believed them and she didn't put up a fight nor question her when they led her away.

* * *

Luciana was brought back to the exam room in the lower levels where she was told by Jean and Charles that when she first arrived she showed strains of about a dozen different mutants but since staying at the school that amount has doubled if not tripled and it was constantly growing and adapting.

'I don't understand, what are you saying to me?' Luciana had no idea what was going on with her. They were being too technical for her freaking out mind.

Charles was the one who answered. "Your mutation isn't that of a telepath, or telekinetic. Not even your scream. Your mutation is the ability to take on other's mutations into yourself and adapt accordingly. Any contact with another mutant, no matter how insignificant, will allow their strain of mutation to bind with you and allow you to have a…copy of it. You truly are remarkable, Luciana, which is why we must work to control your constantly growing abilities."

He knew Luciana was still processing what she was being told but he had to ask her something vital, "When did you come into contact with Magneto?"

Luciana had no idea who the hell that was. 'I have zero clue what you're talking about'.

"You were able to manipulate metal," Charles explained. "No one at this school can do that."

'Are you talking about my bed? I did that after a dream a had. A kid – a boy – was in like a concentration camp and he was bending the metal of the gate. When I woke up my bed was all contorted'. Luciana looked between them, hoping they believed her. 'I'm not lying, I swear. I have no idea who Magneto is.'

"Perhaps not in person," Charles replied. "You shared a psychic memory with him, Luciana. It seems even that is enough to allow your body to copy the mutation strain."

Luciana brought her hands to her head, feeling like she was going to explode. 'This can't be happening'.

"Luciana, listen," Jean said in a comforting tone. "In a way, this is good news. It means you can control what traits you use and when. It also means, with practice, you'll be able to speak normally and not scream every time you try."

Luciana just wanted things to get back to how they were. She wished she could turn back the clock and never leave Mississippi, but she couldn't. This was her life now and she had to deal with it. 'What do I need to do?'

Charles' answer to this was simple. "For now, get some sleep. We start first thing in the morning."

* * *

End Part 2


	3. The girls

The morning after what happened with Logan – him impaling her and she borrowing his powers in return – Marie sat on a bench outside of the school. She hadn't seen Luciana since the night before and was starting to worry. Luciana never made a promise without keeping it. Something must have detained her but she didn't know what.

Marie was pulled from her thought when she heard Bobby call out, "Rogue," and come over to take a seat beside her. Bobby was the cute boy from class with ice powers, she'd been sitting next to him in almost every class they had together now.

Before Bobby even sat down, he said to her, "Rogue, what did you do? They say that you're stealing other mutants powers."

Marie shook her head because it wasn't like that at all. "No. No, I only borrowed his powers."

"You **never** use your power against another mutant." Bobby was very firm with his words.

Marie was almost at a loss for words. If she didn't do what she did then she would have died. "I – I had no choice." When Bobby looked away from her, she added in, "Please, you have to understand me…"

Bobby cut her off there. "If I were you, I'd get myself and your friend out of here."

Marie had no idea what Luciana had to do with this. "What? What do you mean?"

Bobby sighed, "Listen, the students are freaked. Professor Xavier is furious. I don't know what he'll do with you or Grita."

"What does she have to do with this? She wasn't even there." Marie did not take kindly to anyone threatening her friend.

"The Professor may punish her to teach you a lesson. It's one of the things he's been known to do," Bobby replied. "I think you'll both be better off away from here. You should find her and go."

Marie didn't want to leave the school but if anything happened to Luciana because of her…she'd never forgive herself. She got off the bench without a word and walked off, only stopping for a moment to look at Bobby who didn't say a word.

When she left, Bobby smirked as his eyes turned yellow…perhaps he wasn't Bobby after all…

* * *

Luciana had been training with Jean Grey all morning. What they've learned so far is Luciana can safely have up to three mutant traits active before it starts wearing her body down. When those or active, the others are dormant. So, this gave Jean a bit of an idea.

"You always keep your telepathy and telekinesis active, correct?" Jean asked as she walked around Luciana. When Luciana nodded, she then asked her to try something. "Focus on another, one that is not – as you say – La Grita. Focus on a different power and speak."

Luciana had never used her real voice…ever. She had no idea what would happen and she didn't want to risk it. 'No way. Throwing that Big Foot guy – Sabretooth – or whatever was just the tip of the iceberg. I could have clear cut those trees if I wanted to!' She said all this to Jean telepathically, of course.

Jean gestured around the metallic room. "You're safe in here, Luciana. I'll stand behind you if that will make you feel better, but you must try."

Luciana thought this was a bad idea but clearly Jean wouldn't believe that until it was proven. She closed her eyes and thought about Marie's power – it was the first one to pop into her head and one that wasn't painful for her to use. With this in mind, she opened her mouth to speak and no scream came out of it.

Jean smiled at the progress and leaned down closer to her ear. "Now, speak."

Luciana tried to make words come out and finally a weak, hoarsely stammered, "Hel – hello," escaped her lips.

Jean looked very proud of her. "It may take some time to acclimate your voice to active use, but it can be done. Just be sure your scream is dormant when this happens."

Luciana nodded, feeling better than she had in awhile. 'Can I take a break now? I promised Rogue I'd meet up with her this morning. And it's probably like afternoon now.'

Jean heard her telepathic words and nodded. "Of course. Just be sure to focus on which abilities are dormant and which are active. You _must_ stay aware of this. I believe it will help keep new exposures dormant so they will not spring up on you unexpectedly. But you have a lot to learn, Luciana."

Luciana nodded in understanding then darted out of the room as soon as the door opened.

Jean took a deep breath of concern. So much power in such a young girl. It was a wonder she'd made it this far without harm to herself or anyone else. Hopefully it's a trend that will continue.

* * *

Luciana figured Marie would be in class so she went up to the dorms to get changed before finding her, but Marie was there waiting for her with two bags packed. 'What's going on?' she asked telepathically. Clearly something was up.

Marie cut to the chase and didn't give any details. "I'm leaving. You told me if I left you'd come with me, right?"

Training, learning, and everything else the school provided she shoved out the window. Luciana made a promise to her friend and she intended to keep it. With an affirmative nod, she took the coat Marie was holding out for her and asked, "Where are we going?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Lyall was just getting out of class when Logan caught up with him. "Howdy. Long time no see," was Lyall's greeting.

"Have you seen Rogue or Grita?" Logan asked as they walked down the hall. To try and keep from prying ears, he pulled Lyall off to the side so they could talk.

Lyall got all dramatic, "I've been replaced! And here I thought you'd be proud of your newly becoming well-rounded house pet." He grinned his goofy grin but cut the crap when Logan responded with his hard as rock expression. "I saw Rogue this morning in class, but haven't seen her since. As far as Grita, not since last night."

Logan had been looking for both of them to check in and hadn't found anyone who knew where they were. Lyall was the most likely person to know and not even he did. This was evident on his face.

"Logan, are they in trouble or something?" Now Lyall was starting to worry, especially since Logan's own concern was wafting heavily off him.

"I don't know," Logan honestly replied. "But I intend to find out." He cocked his head for Lyall to follow. "Come on, Lycan. I'm not losing track of you, too."

"Awww!" Lyall teased as he walked with Logan down the hallway. "You do care about your strays. So sweet."

Logan glared at him and muttered, "Keep it up and I'm sending you to the pound."

Lyall simply laughed at that then got serious so they could find out where the girls were.

* * *

The girls were gone of course. For being in a school full of mutants with special powers, it was pretty easy to sneak out. Granted a few of Luciana's newly discovered abilities did help, but still. One would thing there'd be more security to keep kids from sneaking off at night. Well, in their case it was late afternoon when they left, but still.

It was pretty close to evening as Marie and Luciana stood in the train station, trying to figure out where to go. ' _What about Vermont? I hear it's lovely there this time of year,'_ she signed.

Marie looked away from the ticked board and laughed. "Where have you heard that?"

Luciana shrugged with a laugh because it was just something people said and all that.

Marie looked at her friend like she was crazy before examining just how much money they had. "Looks like Vermont it is," she sighed. "It's the furthest place we can get to and still have money left over."

Luciana gasped dramatically and excitedly signed, ' _Maybe I can see the future, too!'_

"Good," Marie teased, "then we can put you to work as a psychic when we get to Vermont."

' _That's my dream job! How did you know?'_ Luciana playfully nudged Marie after asking her that.

Marie rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'm the one who's psychic."

The girls got a much needed laugh out of that before going to get their tickets since the train for Vermont was leaving shortly.

Marie and Luciana sat in the middle of the train car across from each other. With their bags beside them, they made it out like they were saving those seats for other people. Truth, they didn't want anyone near them at all.

* * *

The girls were sitting quietly, thinking, when Logan and Lyall appeared and took their bags off the seats and sat down – Lyall next to Luciana and Logan next to Marie.

"Boo," Lyall said to them with a playful grin. "Now what are two lovely ladies like you doing in a place like this?"

Logan was still amazed how he managed to put up with this kid for so long. "I think what Lyall means to ask is why are you two running again?"

'I go where she goes', Luciana telepathically answered so all three could hear her.

Marie looked down before answering. "I heard the Professor was mad at me for that last night. I'm sorry for that."

"I'm sorry, too, but who said the Professor was upset with you?" Logan wanted to know.

"A boy at school," Marie answered, thinking back to what Bobby said. "He said he might punish Luciana as a way to punish me."

'If that the was the Professor's plan then he really had me fooled,' Luciana replied.

Hearing that made Lyall ask, "If you didn't know why she was running, then why did you blindly go?"

'I already told you,' Luciana shot back. 'I go where she goes.'

Logan left those two to whatever conversation they were going to have and turned to Marie. "There's not many people who will understand what you're going through. But this guy Xavier seems to be one of them. He seems to genuinely want to help you – you and Luciana. And, you know, that's a rare thing for people like us."

Before any of them could say another word, the train started moving. Logan took that moment to look between the girls. "So, what do you say? You want to give these geeks one more shot?" When the girls looked silently between them, he added in, "Come on, you're my strays now. I'll take care of you."

'Strays?' Luciana lifted her brow.

"If you play your cards right, you'll get upped to house pet." Lyall snapped his finger and pointed at her with a wink.

Marie smiled at that but turned to Logan to ask, "You promise?"

Logan nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I promise."

Luciana pulled her leg onto her seat and wrapped her arms around her knee with a smirk. 'So, do we start calling you 'dad' now or what?'

Logan was quick to answer with, "Just try and see what happens."

Luciana's smirk turned into a mischievous grin. 'Okay, _dad_ '.

Lyall laughed at her guts to try that but his laughter was cut short when the train screeched to a stop and jolted everyone around in it, almost as if it had crashed into something. Even the electricity in the train was flickering with the emergency lights going on. "I smell trouble."

'Funny,' Luciana telepathically shot back with a groan as she rubbed her neck.

"He's not trying to be," Logan answered for Lyall as he stood up, ready to do what was necessary.

Soon all the metal of the train started to buckle and bend before finally the back of the car was split in half.

'This isn't me!' Luciana had to make that clear.

It was obvious now that it wasn't her, because an elderly man wearing a cape and a helmet came levitating into the car.

Luciana and Marie stayed in the seat area with Lycan-Lyall standing protectively in front of them behind the same stanced Logan.

"You must be Wolverine," Magneto greeted as Logan shot out his metal claws. He held up his hand to control where Logan stood. "That remarkable metal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?" He used his power on Logan to start spreading apart the claws in Logan's hand.

Lyall wasn't going to stand for this. He knew he wasn't much of a fighter – that just wasn't his style – but Logan was family and he was going to protect his family. With a roaring snarl, his eye glowed red as he leaped over the seat and lunged at the guy.

With one swift motion of his hand, he made Logan's arm move and use his metal claws to slash Lyall's back open.

'Lyall!' Luciana telepathically screamed out while Marie verbally screamed, "Stop it! Stop it!"

"What the hell do you want with me?" Logan groaned out, demanding to know.

"You?" Magneto chuckled. "My dear boy, whoever said I wanted you?" With another flick to his hand, he sent Logan flying through the rest of the train until hitting the back wall. Suffice to say, by that point, he was rendered unconscious.

Luciana took a deep breath and focused on her traits. It almost felt like her entire entity was being shuffled around and reset again. When she opened her eyes, she stood and pulled a piece of metal from the wall, sending it towards Magneto.

He was prepared for this and kept it from hitting him. "Ah, I see you got my little message."

' **Run!** ' Luciana sent to Marie before stepping out into the aisle. Marie clearly didn't want to leave her or Lyall but she took off running anyway because Luciana told her to. She didn't get very far before a metal dart hit her in the neck, sedating her.

Luciana saw this and used angrily used her telekinesis to fling the luggage off the shelf at Magneto, but it didn't do very much to deter him.

"Such a small girl with such big power. But you can't control it, can you?" Magneto laughed as he pointed to how one hand was clenched into a fist with drop of blood seeping through her fingers. "You need that pain to keep yourself from hurting others. So what makes you think you can stop me?"

Luciana opened her mouth and let out a scream but he levitated away before it could hit. She closed her mouth and whipped around to find his standing behind her. Luciana kept pulling out piece of the train to fling at him but he deflected until he had enough of this. "No more time for games." He removed another metallic dart from his belt and threw it at Luciana. It got her in the chest and knocked her out almost immediately. Marie wasn't the only mutant he was looking for – The mutant who could take all and the mutant who could be all – He needed them both.

Lyall, healing fast enough to not die but not fast enough to be of any help again, reached out for her. "Grita…" he whispered.

Magneto stepped on Lyall's hand, making the bones crack. "There's nothing you can do for them now. They're mine."

* * *

End Part 3


	4. Let's hit it

Lyall and Logan were brought back to the School to make sure they were alright as well as to regroup. Logan was worried about Lyall because of the wounds Magneto forced him to inflict. "I never would have done that if I had any control. You know that, right?" Logan needed Lyall to know it.

"Of course, I know," Lyall answered honestly, wincing a bit as he looked at the almost healed gashes in the mirror of Logan's rom. "It's my own fault. I should have let you give me those fighting lessons awhile go." Moving on before Logan had a chance to reply, he said, "What is that guy going to do to them?"

"I don't know," Logan answered honestly then turned to Charles and Storm who were also in the room with them. "I thought you said he wanted me."

"It was a suspicion that Luciana was wanted by him as well. I had no idea she was going to run away with Rogue. Nor could I tell what Magneto truly wanted until it was too late." Charles gestured to his head as he said, "His helmet blocks my telepathy."

Logan had enough of this standing around doing nothing crap. He cocked his head for Lyall to go with him. "Come on."

"Where are you going?" Storm asked as he and Lyall left the room.

"We're going to find them," Logan answered, pulling on his jacket.

"How?" was Charles' question to that.

"The traditional way," Logan shot back. "Look."

Storm followed after them. "Logan, you can't do this alone."

"I'm not alone," Logan retorted. "I got Lyall with me."

"He's still healing," Storm countered. "He should stay here. Let someone else help you."

"Like who?" Logan scoffed, "You? So far you've all done a bang-up job."

"Then help us," Storm asked of him. "Fight with us?"

Logan stopped and turned to face Storm. "Fight with you?" he asked incredulously and proceeded in a mocking tone. "Join the team? Be an X-Man? Who the hell do you think you are? You're a mutant. The whole world out there is full of people who hate and fear you. And you're wasting your time trying to protect them? I've got better things to do." Logan then gestured between himself and Lyall. " _We've_ got better things to do."

Logan was about to walk away but he had one more thing to say first. "You know, Magneto's right. There is a war coming. You sure you're on the right side?"

Storm spoke with strong conviction when she said, "At least I've chosen a side."

Lyall pointed towards the exit, asking Logan, "Are we going or not?"

Logan answered this by heading for the door. He stopped when Lyall sniffed the air. "What is it?"

"Nothing." At least Lyall thought it was nothing. "I just smell murky water, or bad fish…or something."

Figuring that was unimportant, Logan opened the door. Standing on the front step was a man who looked drenched and weak.

Lyall recognized him from the TV. "Is that the Senator guy?"

The 'Senator guy' took deep breaths as he managed to get out, "I need to see Doctor Jean Grey." He tried to walk inside but collapsed into Logan, who caught him.

Lyall's face scrunched up because the weird murky water fish smell that reached his senses came from him.

* * *

Lyall stood next to Logan off to the side of the exam room in the lower levels and crossed his arms as Jean and Charles examined Senator Kelly. "We should be looking for Rogue and Grita," he said quietly to Logan. "Why are we wasting time here?"

"If Charles thinks this guy can give us answers then we're going to wait." Logan saw how antsy Lyall was getting and he sighed, "Look, I know you're worried about them. I am too, but we need to be smart about this."

"When have you ever done anything because it was the smart thing?" Lyall shot back.

"Your good influence must finally be rubbing off on me." Logan mussed up Lyall's hair to joke with him but Lyall wasn't having it.

"They're one of us, Logan. You said it yourself, they're your strays now. That makes them one of us. We have to find them." Lyall couldn't even think about what might be happening to Luciana and Marie.

"And we will find them," Logan vowed. "You have my word."

* * *

After getting the information he needed from the Senator's mind, he brought Logan and the others up to his office to share what was learned. "The machine emits radiation that triggers mutation in ordinary human beings."

Jean picked up from there. "But the mutation is unnatural. Kelly's body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down almost immediately."

"What effect does the radiation have on mutants?" Scott wanted to know.

"There appears to be none," Charles answered. "But I fear it will seriously harm any normal person exposed to it."

"So, what does Magneto want with Rogue?" Logan asked and Lyall made sure to add in, "And Grita."

"Specifically…I don't know." Charles wished he had an answer, but he didn't.

"Wait a second," Scott interjected. "You said this machine draws its power from Magneto and that it weakened him."

"Yes," Charles concurred and made the connection. "In fact, it nearly killed him."

Logan was right on board their thought train. "He's going to transfer his power to Rogue and use her to power the machine."

"What does that have to do with Grita?" Lyall couldn't make that connection.

"There was an empty power chamber below where Magneto stood," Charlies explained. "Grita's mutation allows her to copy and keep any mutation she's been exposed to – not matter how insignificant."

Lyall was starting to worry even more now. "And since she's been exposed to Magneto she already has his ability?" When Charles nodded, now Lyall understood. "He's going to use her too."

"With both girls powering the machine it will be far more dangerous than one alone." Charles couldn't even imagine the horrors it could bring. Not only for the humans exposed, but for the girls as well. Rogue and Grita would not likely survive. It was time to get down to business. "Cyclops, you and Storm ready the Jet. I'm going to find Rogue and Grita. Jean, find Logan and Lyall uniforms." It was clear that Lyall wasn't going to let them leave without him and believed it would be safer for him to come along as opposed to try and follow.

Scott did not like the idea of them coming with them. "Whoa, wait a minute. They're not coming with us, are they?"

Charles' answer was simply, "Yes."

Scott still wasn't budging. "I'm sorry, Professor, but they'll endanger the mission. And if…"

Lyall was just about to give Scott – Cyclops – whatever the hell his name was, a piece of his mind but Logan beat him to it by saying, "Hey, we weren't the ones who gave the train station a new sun roof, pal."

Scott turned around and calmly retorted with, "No, but you were the one who stabbed Rogue through the chest."

Lyall's eyes turned red as he snarled at Cyclops. He was about to make a move but was prevented from doing so – Not only by Logan holding him back but by Storm bursting into the room and telling them that Senator Kelly was dead.

Hearing this made the mission all the more dire. "I'm going to find them." Charles then told the group with a firmness to his tone, "Logan and Lyall are both coming with us. It's settled."

* * *

Rogue had no idea what was going to happen to her or Luciana. When she woke up she was shackled on a boat and based of the view of the Statue of Liberty out the window, they were near Liberty Island. Luciana was still unconscious, laying on the floor beside her. "Is she dead?" Rogue asked the blue woman walking past her.

"No," Mystique answered, saying nothing more before leaving the room to go on deck.

"She is far too valuable to kill – at least for the moment," Magneto interjected with a smile as he looked down at Luciana. "Alas, she must stay unconscious. It will be much easier to not have to worry about the tricks up her sleeve." He chuckled lightly then looked out the window at the Statue of Liberty. "Magnificent, isn't she?"

"I've seen it," Rogue replied like it was nothing important to her.

"I first saw her in 1949," Magneto admitted. "America was going to be the land of tolerance, of peace.

Rogue swallowed a lump in her throat before asking, "Why are you going to kill us?"

Magneto was very serious with his reply. "Because there is no land of tolerance. There is no peace. Not here or anywhere else. Women and children, whole families destroyed simply because they were born different from those in power." He knelt down to speak to Rogue on her level. "Well, after tonight, the world's powerful will be just like us. They will return home as brothers. As mutants. Our cause will be theirs. Your sacrifice, as well as your friend's, will mean our survival." He could see the fear in her eyes. "I understand if that comes as a small consolation."

Sabretooth came into view and Magneto said to him, "Put them in the machine. I'll raise it."

* * *

The plan was set – save Rogue and Grita before the machine they were hooked up in wiped out all of New York. Not just New York City but the entire state. Lyall still couldn't believe the Professor allowed him access to this rescue mission so he was going to do his best not to blow it. Especially since he had his own black X-Men uniform now and everything. Granted it fit a little weird, but oh well.

Lyall sat in the seat beside Logan on the Jet and pulled at the uniform about as much as Logan did. He paused doing this for a moment when Logan spoke to him.

"Look, Lycan, just because you're tagging along doesn't mean I'm going to let you get put in a position where you can die again." Just in case Lyall didn't understand what he was saying, he put it in simpler terms. "You're staying in the Jet."

"Like hell I am," Lyall shot back. "I know I usually obey you, but not about this."

Logan actually looked a little impressed by him. "Since when did you get so ballsy?"

Lyall settled back in his seat as he answered, "You must be rubbing off on me."

Logan smirked at that. "Better late than never."

The Jet took off and that meant soon it would be showtime. Logan shot his claws through the glove and inspected how they looked, then he noticed Lyall fidgeting with his own. "I named you Lyall for a reason. Use it."

Lyall understood what Logan was saying to him and lowered his head. As he started to tap into his mutation, he rolled his head around to crack his neck as his features changed. Finally he snarled for he was completely 'wolfed out'. There was a bit of a problem though – his claws hardly punctured through the gloves.

Logan held out his hand and gestured for Lyall to give them over, which he did. Logan lined up the gloves and with a single claw he sliced off the fingers before giving them back.

"Thanks," Lyall replied with a deeper, more grumbly voice than before.

"Welcome," Logan replied, hoping Lyall's claws and wolf nature would give him more of an advantage now than before.

By this time, they arrived at their destination with Storm giving them fog cover and weather to mask their arrival. When Scott landed the Jet on the water, it was with a bit turbulence.

As he powered down, he said to the group, "Sorry."

Nobody had anything to say except Logan who asked, "You call that a landing?"

* * *

Rogue stood shackled in whatever the hell it was Magneto's henchman hooked her up into. Through the grated floor at her feet, she could see Luciana – still unconscious – below. "Luciana," Rogue whispered as tears streamed down her cheek. "Luciana, please. Wake up!" She continued to cry out to her friend and finally Luciana started to stir. "Luciana?!"

'Where are we?' she asked telepathically and groaned because doing so gave her a sharp pain in her head.

"Big bad guy is going to kill us!" Rogue shouted back. "We're hooked up to something. Are you okay? Can you get us out?"

'It hurts,' Luciana replied and whimpered in pain again. She took a deep breath to try and push through the pain caused by who knew what. 'Are you okay?' This time she cried out because it hurt so badly.

"Don't try to use your powers!" Rogue pleaded with her. "Rest and maybe you'll get better. Maybe you'll be able to get us out of it."

Luciana had no idea of she would be able to, but if she could…she would try.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lyall and the others walked into the Statue of Liberty's gift shop. Everyone walked through the metal detector without issue – all except for Logan. He set the thing off then used his claws to destroy the thing. At Scott's 'seriously?' expression, Logan lowered his two outer claws, leaving the middle one up to flip him off.

Lyall sniffed the air and snarled, "We're not alone."

Logan followed suite and sniffed as well. "He's right."

"Where are they?" Cyclops wanted to know, but neither of them had an answer.

"Not sure," Logan replied as he walked off. "Keep your eye open."

Lyall looked around, trying to determine where the scent was coming from then he had it. Logan, or someone who appeared to be Logan, rejoined them. Without any heads up, he snarled and lunged.

The apparent Logan threw him off and brought out his claws to fight with. "Where are you manners?"

"It's not Logan!" Lyall snarled one again and was about to fight him but the real Logan appeared and intervened. This made Lyall roar and charge, but the non-Logan activated something to close a door between them, leaving Logan to fight them on his own.

Lyall pounded on the door and stepped away when Scott told him to back up and moved to his visor. Only things didn't go as planned because another scent reached Lyall's senses. "Frog," he seethed.

"Toad, actually," the mutant corrected from above before landing in the middle of them. With his long, elastic tongue, he wrapped it around Lyall's neck and threw him so hard that he crashed through the window and landed on the ground below.

Lyall coughed and groaned from the impact but soon pushed himself to his feet. "I need more training," he muttered, before charging to get back inside and help the others.

He climbed in through a different window, hoping to be able to sneak up on the bad guys. What he found was Logan impaling a copy of himself. He stood and watched as the copy turned into a blue woman with red hair.

Lyall looked over at Logan and asked, "How did you know it wasn't me?"

Logan scoffed a chuckle. "You're my house pet. If I can't recognize you by now then we have some issues."

Lyall chuckled deeply at that and went over to Logan.

Logan mussed up Lyall's hair and joked, "Good boy," before taking him to regroup with the others.

* * *

With Toad and Mystique dealt with, Lyall went with the others up to the Statue's head but they didn't find anything there. Nothing more than a hole in the roof that gave them view of the torch and Machine above.

Suddenly, Logan said, "Everybody get out of here."

"What is it?" Storm wanted to know.

"I can't move," Logan replied. And that meant Magneto was nearby, controlling him.

Lyall was quick to obey and jumped over the railing of the staircase, all the way down to the bottom. He landed with a bit of a crack but snapped his leg back into place with a low growl and booked it outside. Lyall had no idea what he was going to do next but he had to do something.

He ran outside and tried to think, then he looked down at his claws. As far as he knew, Wolves were known for their climbing abilities, but Lyall wasn't a mere wolf – he was a mutant.

Lyall ran around the base of the Statue until he was below the torch. After tearing off the boots to gain access to his clawed feet, he leaped onto the Statue. Lyall drove his claws into the metal, and while it was painful, he started to climb. He climbed as quietly as he could, hoping not to drive attention to himself. Right along with that hoped, he hoped like hell he wasn't going to die.

* * *

Luciana had no idea how much time had passed but she managed to bring herself to her feet. She couldn't tell Rogue what she was up to, it hurt too much to use her telepathy. As far as she could tell, everything around her was metal so she focused everything she had into that. Luciana held up her hands to try and free herself but they only became shot down onto the metal pillars instead. No matter how hard she pulled, they would not be removed.

"And here I did not even need to coax you," Magneto chuckled from the level above as he looked down through the grate at her. "It is almost a pity you must die. I would have enjoyed telling you about your parents."

Luciana's eyes widened at what he told her and she pulled even harder now. Not just because he claimed to have information she's wanted for her entire life, but because he was getting closer to Rogue. Trying to access the dormant strains in her now felt like they were tearing her apart but she didn't care. She found what she was looking for and held her head back. Luciana looked right at Magneto and screamed.

The force of the scream threw him away from Rogue, but it was no matter. He had already transferred his power to her. With it done, he staggered out of the doorway which lead to the outside.

Luciana couldn't take the pain anymore, so she stopped focusing on the scream and gave in. With her body now weak, she gave it all to the power she copied from Magneto. "I – I'm sorry", Luciana weakly spoke, not even knowing if Rogue could hear her over the sound of the Machine powering up.

Luciana gasped when Lyall jumped over the railing behind her.

"That was terrifying," he said with his grumbly voice before hurrying over to Luciana. "Did you miss me?" Lyall was about to try and break off what was holding Luciana in place but the Machine jolted upwards and almost made him lose his balance. Then rings started spinning around them and Rogue above. "I did not think this plan out very well," he unfortunately thought aloud.

The Machine started doing its thing and began draining both Luciana and Rogue's lifeforce. Lyall looked up and saw that Logan somehow managed to get to Rogue but he couldn't worry about that now. Luciana was crying out in pain and he had to help her. Lyall grabbed hold of one of the pillars Luciana's hands were attached to and with a loud road he broke the thing in half. Lyall did the same to the other but it did not power down the Machine, all it did was stop it from draining Luciana – Which meant the Machine was working even harder on Rogue.

Lyall caught Luciana when she collapsed, but she was still breathing. "I got you," he assured her.

Luciana tried to catch her breath but it was hard to. It did not help when she saw a blast from Cyclops hit Magneto, making him fall from the torch. Any possibility she had of learning anything about her parents fell with him.

A moment later, the Machine broke apart and exploded thanks to Logan slicing through the rings. Thankfully the radiation was stopped before it reached any human life.

Luciana looked up and saw Logan trying to help a lifeless looking Rogue. Adrenaline took over and she left Lyall's grasp to get to the short ladder connecting the two levels. Once on Rogue's level, she thought she was going to lose her mind because Logan was holding onto Rogue and nothing was happening. Rogue couldn't be dead…she couldn't be!

The agony of losing her friend made her throw her head back and scream louder than she had ever before. She only stopped when she felt Lyall's now human-appearing self, wrap his arms around her. Luciana leaned into him and sobbed until she heard Rogue gasp. Now Lyall was the one who felt like he lost someone.

"Logan?" Lyall left Luciana's side and past the now alive and conscious Rogue, and went over to Logan who was lying wounded and bleeding on the grate floor. "Don't do this, Logan!" Lyall cried out, putting pressure on Logan's wounds. "Logan!" He tried to get Logan to regain consciousness but it wasn't working. "Dad…" Lyall whispered, hoping that above all would resonate with Logan, but not even that could bring him back.

Luciana moved to her friend and held onto her, avoiding skin contact, as they both looked at Lyall with Logan. They each felt so sorry, for different reasons, and yet so grateful they were both alive and had each other. Luciana was certainly feeling a whirlwind of emotions in a short amount of time, but she did manage to whisper, "I'm sorry."

* * *

Logan was brought back to the School and down to the lower level to see if there was anything that could be done to help Logan. Once he was hooked up to the medical machinery it was proven he was not dead. Lyall barely left Logan's side while he was recuperating and Luciana's hardly left Lyall's. Luciana couldn't explain why, but she felt connected to them now – both of them.

It was a couple weeks later when Logan finally regained consciousness. Lyall practically jumped out of his seat to get closer to him. "Dad?"

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Logan grunted.

"Shut up, old man, and take it," Lyall sassed back then grinned.

Logan smiled back at him. "Glad to be alive…son." He looked over and saw Luciana standing nearby, which made him ask, "How's Rogue?"

"She's fine," Luciana spoke aloud, finally able to manage it. She was still a bit hoarse at times but it was getting better. "She acted a bit like your for awhile. But since we've managed to put up with Lyall, it wasn't too bad."

"Thanks," Lyall sarcastically replied then turned back to Logan. "I'm gonna go get Jean. Let her know you're awake."

Luciana waited until Lyall was gone to speak to Logan. "Thank you for saving her life."

Logan pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan and said, "You're welcome," as he pulled off the wires and such from his body.

"While you were passed out, Lyall talked about how Charles was going to help you look into your past." Luciana moved to stand in front of him. "Are you leaving?"

"That's the plan," Logan admitted. "Once I get around to it."

"You taking Lyall with you?" was her next question.

Logan was honest with his words, "If he wants to come along." There was something on Luciana's face that made him say, "But that's not what you're really worried about, is it?"

Luciana crossed her arms before asking him, "Care to take another stray along?"

Logan wasn't too sure about that. Lyall was one thing, but Luciana was something entirely different. He thought about how many things could go wrong but ended up saying, "Why not," anyway.

Luciana nodded as she walked away. "Good. Because I've been packed for the past week."

Logan was going to ask how she figured he was going to say yes but something else took precedent. "Hold on, you can talk?"

Luciana paused at the door to laugh, "Yeah. Did you just notice that?", and walked out of the room before he could answer.

* * *

Luciana was ready to leave with Lyall and Logan except for one thing – Rogue. She didn't know how to say goodbye to her best friend, but it had to be done.

Luciana went down into the foyer just as Logan and Lyall finished saying their goodbyes to her and nodded when Logan told her they'd wait outside.

Rogue pushed her streak of white hair behind her ear as she took in a shaky breath. She signed to her best friend, _'Are you really going with them?'_

' _Yes,'_ Luciana replied, feeling like she was going to cry.

Rogue already was. _'What happened to going wherever I go?'_

Luciana felt the tears streaming down her cheek now. _'You're not the one going anywhere. I am.'_

Rogue dropped her hands and cried, "I don't want you to go."

Luciana hugged her friend and whispered, "I'll be seeing you again. I promise." When they pulled apart, she flicked Rogue's white streak with a smile. "Goodbye, Rogue."

Rogue cupped Luciana's face with her gloved hands and replied with, "Goodbye, La Grita."

Luciana sniffled again and pulled down Rogue's hands, knowing if she didn't leave at that moment, she never would. Turning her back, she scooped up her duffel and went out the door.

Luciana found Logan and Lyall sitting on a pair of motorcycles. "You ready?" Logan asked her. She nodded and strapped her bag onto his bike before climbing on behind Lyall. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Back to Canada," Logan told her as they started up their bikes.

Luciana accepted this information without questions for more. "Let's hit it."

And so, they did. Logan took lead and rode off down the driveway with Lyall's bike right behind him. Luciana wrapped her arms around Lyall and rested her head on his back as she closed her eyes. They were going back to Canada to find answers for Logan. And maybe, perhaps one day, they could find some answers for her, too. Since Luciana kept the healing trait she got from Logan as a constant active one, theoretically she had all the time in the world in which to find them…

* * *

The End


End file.
